Love & Memories
by Loves to dance
Summary: One shot. It's Valentine's Day and James sends Lily on a little trip down memory lane before she can receive her gift. Fluff.


**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter & Co.

**Author's Note: **Italics indicate a flashback. Enjoy!

...

On any normal day, Lily Evans would have been asleep at nine o'clock on a Saturday morning. However, this Saturday was different, much different. It was the fourteenth of February: Valentine's Day.

This Valentine's Day was also very different for Lily Evans. It was the first time in the history of her eighteen-year-old life that Lily Evans was actually happy it was Valentine's Day. For the first time she wasn't spending Valentine's Day dreading going on a date with some random bloke, she wasn't miserably questioning where her Mr. Right was, and she wasn't waiting the holiday out to dump a boy.

This Valentine's Day was much, much different. She had finally found her Mr. Right and unbelievably, he had been right under her nose all along. Her Mr. Right was none other than James Potter; Quidditch Captain, Head Boy, and her boyfriend of nearly five months.

And having James Potter as her boyfriend on Valentine's Day was the exact reason as to why Lily Evans was awake at nine o'clock on a Saturday morning. For at that exact moment in time, Lily heard a distinct pecking noise at the window of her dormitory, which happened to be directly beside her bed.

Groaning, Lily got to her feet and opened the window, allowing the owl inside. She untied the letter from the familiar owl's leg and it flew away. She then glanced at her clock and read the time. This was early, even for James. He usually granted her another hour before asking her very politely to get her "precious self down stairs" because he was eager to get to breakfast and was going to go alone if she didn't hurry it up a bit.

At once she knew something was different this time. James never wrote her name on the envelope, at least not anymore. He used to, when they were first dating, but that only lasted a month. The paper was also different; it wasn't ordinary parchment.

Lily tore open the envelope and laughed when she saw that James was using Valentine's Day paper. Her boyfriend was such a dork. But then again, wasn't that what drew her towards him in the first place?

Written, in what Lily knew to be his best handwriting, was:

"Lily,

Happy Valentine's Day. I have a surprise for you, but you'll have to find it first. I won't tell you where it is or what it is, that would ruin all the fun. But it's worth it, I promise. Good luck, I'm eagerly waiting for you to finish your search.

Yours,

James

P.S. Your first clue is: our first kiss."

Lily read the letter three times. What was he getting at? And what exactly did he mean by "our first kiss?" What sort of clue was that? She pondered the subject while she dressed and readied herself for the day.

_James was sitting by the fireplace in Gryffindor Common Room, staring at its flames. He looked peaceful, yet intent on the fire. She wasn't sure if she should disturb him or not. She didn't know why he was alone in front of the fire at three o'clock in the morning. Perhaps he was lost in his thoughts…._

"_Everything okay?" she finally asked. _

_He jumped at the sound of her voice and his solemn face converted into a large smile once he set eyes on her. "I'm fine." _

"_What are you doing up?" she hesitantly asked, slowly walking closer to the blazing fire. _

"_Couldn't sleep," he replied. "You?" _

"_Same." _

"_Want to play a game of chess?" he asked, nodding toward the abandoned set nearby. _

_She gave him a strange look, but agreed. "I'm terrible at it." _

"_I'm sure you'll do fine," he replied, staring directly into her emerald eyes. _

_Just two minutes into the game and James saw what she had been referring to. She was dreadful at chess. The pieces kept shouting at her too, telling her that they deserved to stay in the game and that she needed to abandon the other pieces instead. James, however, was quite good. He informed her it was only because his father played the game with him nearly every evening when he was younger. _

_With just three pieces left on the board, Lily made to move her knight, but James shook his head. "Don't do that. It leaves your queen wide open." _

_Lily brought her fingers to the nearby bishop; James's hands enclosed hers. It was an accident; he snapped his hand back and turned a light shade of pink. But that accident made Lily's heart speed up and her stomach jitter. _

_She lightly bit her lower lip and chanced a glance at James. He stared intently at the board, but Lily knew it was fake. His eyes didn't move and he was forcing himself to take deep breaths. _

_Finally, Lily asked, "Is this move better?"_

"_Much," he answered, his voice sounding huskier than usual. It wasn't his showing off voice, which Lily had become all too familiar with during their fifth year. No, this was different. This voice wasn't intentional. _

"_James." _

_He looked up and Lily stared directly into his hazel eyes. She didn't know why she did it, but she placed her hand on top of his outstretched arm. He didn't break their gaze, nor did she. But suddenly, the gap between them began to close._

_His lips touched hers for the very first time and her eyes shut at once as she melted into the kiss. He brought his free hand to her face, as if afraid she would disappear without his touch. His lips pushed against hers and opened just the slightest bit. _

Smiling, but still utterly confused as to what James was getting at, Lily walked down the stairs of her dormitory and into the common room. Maybe he would be waiting down there for her and she would somehow get the truth out of him. It was unlikely that he'd tell her, but who knows, maybe she would be able to convince him to give her another hint.

However, to Lily's disappointment, James was not in the common room. In fact, the common room was deserted. The only life was the blazing fire, which appeared to be significantly larger than usual.

As she walked closer to it, Lily noticed that there was a deserted chessboard and pieces set up: only three white pieces were left. She looked closer at the pieces; there was a queen, a knight, and a bishop. She felt chills run up her arms as she sat down in one of the plush chairs.

Then she saw it. There was a small piece of parchment tucked under the board. Curiosity getting the best of her, Lily pulled it out and read the note.

"Lily,

I knew you'd catch on soon enough. You solved your first clue, but that was an easy one, right? In case you still don't get it, you're currently embarking upon a little treasure hunt. And your treasure will be, undoubtedly, the best Valentine's present you've ever gotten thus far.

And now, for your second clue: starry nights.

Yours,

James"

He was kidding, right? He wasn't seriously going to make her travel the castle in search for clues, was he? She reread the second letter. Okay, he was.

What a prat! Of course, in his mind though, it was all fun and games. Lily was certain that he never paused for a moment to think about what a complete waste of time this would be. A treasure hunt on Valentine's Day was certainly not Lily's idea of fun. Instead of being with her idiot boyfriend, she was going to be alone.

On the other hand though, she knew he must have gone through a lot of trouble to do this. After all, he had set up the chessboard exactly how it had been for their very first kiss. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach become active again, just thinking about her first kiss with James. Okay, so maybe this treasure hunt idea of his wasn't such a bad idea. Maybe, just maybe, it would be fun.

Lily read the letter for the third time. Starry nights. What could it mean? The astronomy tower perhaps? Lots of couples went up there late at night. But no, it couldn't be the astronomy tower. She and James were quite possibly the only couple who had never visited the astronomy tower late at night. And based on the first clue, Lily was certain that James was leading her to places that were significant throughout the course of their relationship.

Starry nights. Lily walked to the window and looked up at the morning sky. Was she supposed to wait until the stars came out to see the answer? It wasn't even ten o'clock in the morning. There was no way that James would make her wait that long to receive the third clue.

"Starry nights," she said aloud, "Starry nights." And suddenly she knew exactly what he had been referring to.

"_Lily, stop being such a baby, we're not going to get caught," James said, looking at her with pleading eyes. She hated it when he did that; he knew she couldn't resist that look. He knew she couldn't resist that charming smile mixed with his soft, gleaming hazel eyes. _

"_Fine," she gave in. _

_He lit up at once. Lily swore that his eyes shined whenever they were doing something they both knew they shouldn't. James always insisted that she was making things up. But once again, there seemed to be a twinkle of excitement radiating from him. _

_James dropped her hand for a moment and retrieved the Marauder's Map from his cloak. He said the password, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good" as he tapped his wand to it. After checking that the coast was clear, James took Lily's hand once again and led her out of the castle's front doors. _

_They wandered down the path, taking their time as they knew that Filch only patrolled the castle and Hagrid, the gamekeeper had gone to bed hours ago. _

"_Tell me the truth," James began, "Did you really used to hate me?" _

"_Honestly?" she asked. _

"_Honestly." _

"_Yes."_

"_Lily!" he exclaimed._

"_Well, you were kind of a prick," she answered, "Besides, you said you wanted the truth." Seeing that he still looked a bit disappointed, she added, "But I obviously don't hate you now." _

"_What changed it then?" he asked as he drifted off and sat down on a nearby bench. _

_Lily followed actions and sat down beside him. She lightly placed her hand on his lower thigh as she answered, "Okay, truth time. I've always thought that you were good looking, but you were just too much of a bully whenever I was around. But now, well now that you've actually stopped trying to impress me, I see the real you. I see the sweet, charming, smart, funny James Potter." _

"_Are you just saying that to make me feel better?" _

"_James, shut up," she said before leaning forward and placing her lips on his. His hand slid on top of hers, resting on the bench. With her free hand, she touched his face. When their lips parted, she left it there and stared directly into his hazel eyes. "I like you, James, okay?" _

_He smiled back at her and gave her hand a squeeze. Breaking their gaze, James leaned back on the bench and stared up at the stars. Lily did so as well, shifting closer to him in the process. He slung one arm around her shoulders and Lily felt herself feel ten times lighter with his touch. _

"_Did you know that Muggles pay people to have stars named for them?" James suddenly asked. "I learned that in Muggle studies." _

"_I did know that," she answered, still staring up at the night sky. _

"_I'm going to name one after you," he remarked. "Right here, right now." He pointed up at the brightest star and said, "That one is going to be called the Lily Star." _

"_That one's already got a name genius," she joked. "Polaris, a.k.a the North Star, or have you forgotten the five years of astronomy you took?" _

"_Okay fine," he said, turning a light shade of red. "Someday, Lily, I'll name a star after you, someday." He kissed the side of her head as he held her closer to his chest and although Lily could've cared less about him naming a star after her, she wouldn't have told him so for all the galleons in the world. _

Lily grabbed her cloak and then dashed out of the common room. Okay, maybe James did know her better than she had known. She was truly intrigued with her search. She didn't want to slow her pace at all; she wanted to read the next clue. She was determined to figure out what James had in store for her.

Once she reached the park bench, Lily felt a tang of disappointment. There wasn't a letter waiting for her. She was sure that she had been right, so where was it? She ran her fingers beneath the bench, but only found an old piece of chewing gum. She then searched the grass nearby, but nothing, nothing at all.

"Think, Lily, think," she commanded herself. But as she searched her mind for anything involving James and stars, her only conclusion was that one memory. She paced the grounds in front of the bench and took out the letter again. Starry nights. What else could it have meant?

She plopped down on the bench, sliding down it until her head could rest against its back. "What could it mean?" she asked aloud.

Lily closed her eyes and began to pick through her mind again. They had taken astronomy together, but were never partners. Lily ruled out that possibility. What did he want her to find?

She opened her eyes and gasped at once. Up in the tree above the park bench was a silver, sparkly star. Lily jumped to her feet and grabbed her wand from her pocket. "Accio star," she said aloud and the star came zooming at her.

Lily grinned. She had been right all along. Written among the sparkles was her name and on the back, she noticed there was a much longer note.

"Lils,

See, I told you I'd name a star after you someday. You thought it would be in the sky, but for now, this little one will have to do.

Here's your next clue: your laughter is a question I want to spend my whole life answering.

Yours,

James"

Her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering. What did that mean? She and James had shared quite a few laughs together, how was she supposed to figure out which one he was referring to? He had sent her on the impossible task. Was she just supposed to wander the corridors until she saw the next clue? That would take days!

She slowly made her way back to the castle, contemplating James's words. Despite the fact that his clue was incredibly vague, it warmed her heart. Did he mean it? Did James see himself with her, making her laugh, in the many years to come?

Lily shook her head. He was a seventeen-year-old boy, of course he didn't see himself more than two weeks into the future. But then again, why write it if it wasn't true? She shook her head again, not wanting to know the answer, not yet anyway. For now she wanted to focus on finding the next clue.

As Lily walked past the Great Hall, her stomach gave a rumble. She had completely forgotten about breakfast. She stepped in and decided that eating one muffin while thinking about her quest wasn't going to take up too much time.

She sat down with Sirius, Remus, and Peter, James's best friends. It was odd to see the three of them without James, not unheard of, just odd. When James wasn't with her, he could always be found by the sides of his fellow Marauders.

"Morning, Lily," Sirius said in a very loud voice, much louder than usual. In fact, nearly the entire Gryffindor table and a few Hufflepuffs looked over at them.

"Yes, good morning, Lily," Remus said, stressing her name as he spoke.

Just then, Lily heard the sound of footsteps running behind her. She turned and saw a glimpse of James, running through the doors. It was unmistakably him, despite the fact that his friends were trying to convince her otherwise. She would recognize his messy, black hair anywhere.

"Why was he running away from me?" Lily demanded.

"That's wasn't him," Peter insisted, although he turned a deep shade of red when he spoke.

"Peter Pettigrew, don't lie to me," she said.

"Why would he run from you anyways?" Sirius smugly asked. He couldn't hide the truth any better than Peter. They knew what James was up to and Lily was willing to bet that he had sent them as his lookouts, alerting him whenever she came near.

"Tell me what he's planning," Lily said, ignoring Sirius's question.

"We don't know anything about it," Remus answered. "I swear, Lily, we don't. He told us not to tell you where he was, but he didn't say why. He said you'd like it in the end though… it's not that he forgot about Valentine's Day or anything. I've seen the present, I can attest to that."

"You really don't know anything?"

"Nothing," Sirius answered, giving in to the fact that James had been running away from her. "He's been acting kind of strange though, you know, real private stuff."

Lily sighed and took another bite of her breakfast. Finally, she asked, "Have you ever heard James say anything about me laughing?" It was a long shot, she knew it was, but it was worth a shot, wasn't it? They were his best friends, so maybe he gave the some sort of clue that might help Lily in her quest.

"Well, that's what made him start to fancy you, but you already know that," Sirius casually remarked. "Otherwise, nothing rings a bell though."

"Wait, back up a bit," Lily calmly said, despite the fact that her heart was pounding.

"I can't think of anything," he slowly said.

"No, before that," she snapped.

"You laughing was when he started to fancy you," Sirius slowly replied.

"Tell me the whole story, don't leave anything out," she said, truly intrigued by this bit of information.

"_Merlin I'm bored," Sirius complained. He and his three best friends were all seated beneath the large tree overlooking the lake one fall day. _

"_Maybe you should try studying for Slughorn's exam," Remus suggested as he flipped through his potions book. _

"_I know it all," Sirius replied. _

"_The exam is in thirty minutes and you haven't even opened your book," Remus commented. "You do realize its review for the past four years, right?" _

"_I said I don't need to study," Sirius stated. _

"_Look at Evans," James suddenly said, stopping the bickering of his two friends. He hadn't participated in their conversation since the four friends sat down beneath the tree. Instead, he had been staring off into the distance, apparently toward a small group of girls. _

"_What about her?" Peter asked. _

"_I wonder what she's laughing about," James stated. "She looks really happy, you know. I wonder what Mary said to make her laugh." _

"_Prongs, mate, who cares?" Sirius commented. _

"_She looks different, doesn't she?" James continued. _

"_Well, yeah, she's grown up a bit over the summer," Remus answered. "She's a pretty girl." _

"_No, it's different," James stated. "There's something about her that's different." He smiled as he continued to stare at Lily. "She's been laughing about something for nearly five minutes now." _

"_She's just some girl," Sirius reminded him. _

"_Yeah, sure," James said and shook his head. He turned his attention back to his friends, but every so often he glanced over his shoulder and looked at Lily, just to see if she was still laughing. _

"That's when he began to fancy me?" Lily asked, thinking that it was strange. By the time their fifth year came about, Lily was certain that she hadn't spoken more than ten words to James. It hadn't been intentional, they just didn't have the same friends.

"Well, he started to talk about you more and more," Remus answered. "And he started hexing people when you were around."

"Thanks," Lily said before excusing herself from the table. She mulled over Sirius's memory for a while as she walked back outside the castle doors. She didn't even know what she was laughing about that day; there was no chance that she would ever recall what Mary had said that day.

It was strange. It had been such a simple act: laughter. And yet, that was what drew James towards her. Her laughter was what made him hex other students, because he tried to get her to laugh again.

Lily concluded that James's mind must work differently than anyone else's. Nobody fancied someone just from seeing laughter, even if it did light up her face. It just wasn't normal. But then again, when has James ever been a normal boy? It was his strange quirks and love of adventure that drove her towards him.

She walked along the beaten path from the walkway towards the great tree by the lake. Students sat beneath it so many times that the grass had worn away. It was a particularly favorite spot of James's. He's been a frequent visitor since first year.

The clue was clear at once. James had used to spello-tape to stick a piece of parchment to the tree. Lily laughed when she saw it. Who else would tape a Valentine's Day parchment to a tree?

Once she had successfully removed it from the tree, taking a bit of bark with her, Lily began to read the letter.

"Roses are red

Violets are blue

This is how much

I like you"

If it wasn't for the fact that Lily recognized James's handwriting, she wouldn't have believed it to be a note for her. The style was so different, not to mention used the beginning of a Muggle poem. He must have harassed the Muggle Studies professor for that one.

"This is how much I like you," Lily said aloud. What is how much he likes her? Obviously the roses and violets part was just part of the poem and not relevant to where she needed to go next. But what place showed how much he liked her?

More than that, what exactly did he mean by that? Was he referring to the first time he told her he liked her? That was way back in fifth year and she had shot him down instantly. No, that was most certainly not a romantic memory at all. James wouldn't spoil Valentine's Day with a memory of her informing him that she would rather lick the sidewalk than go on a date with him.

It was that word, "like," that threw her off guard. James had never, in the course of their relationship, said the words, "Lily Evans, I like you." It just didn't roll off the tongue. Obviously she knew he liked her, otherwise he wouldn't have kissed her to begin with.

"This is how much I like you," Lily said to herself once again. "How much," she stated. She grinned as she walked away from the large tree overlooking the lake. She knew exactly how much he liked her.

"_I think this is a first in Marauder history," James began. "I'm the only one who's not in detention. It's usually me and Sirius, sometimes all four of us. But I'm always in detention with one of them." _

"_Being Head Boy has its advantages," Lily replied. She and James were resting on his bed, without any worries of interrupted by his roommates. His arm was snaked around, holding her close to his body. She rested her head on his shoulder and wove one of her hands into his, gently playing with it as they spoke. _

"_Or disadvantages," he said. "I couldn't sneak off to the kitchens, otherwise it wouldn't been all four of us." _

"_Are you really complaining?" she asked, smiling up at him. _

"_Of course not," James answered before leaning over her and kissing her soft lips. _

_She shrieked with laughter as he pulled her on top of him and James frowned up at her. She merely smiled at him before leaning down and kissing him again, running her fingers up his bare chest as she did so. She felt his frown turn into a light smile before kissing her back, just as playful as she had been kissing him. _

_Lily traced her fingers down his chest now and kissed him once more before sitting upright. Her legs were straddling his sides, her hands resting on his abdomen to hold her balance. James brought his hands behind his head and stared up at her. Lily was sure she looked quite the sight with her hair probably as messy as his and all but two buttons of her shirt undone. _

_She lightly pinched his sides, making his entire body squirm. This led, of course, to her running her fingers across his stomach, forcing him into fits of laughter with her tickling him. "Lily," he said between laughs as he squirmed to get away. However, she had him pinned and it was no use._

_Finally, he grabbed her hands and forced them out to the side. He was grinning at her as she tried to break free of his grasp. He then leaned forward and kissed her again, much more passionately this time. It seemed to distract Lily and she loosened her arms beneath his grasp, which he released at once. She brought her hands to his face and felt the small bit of stubble left from the morning's shave on his face. Her legs were draped over his, crossed around his back. She pulled him down on top of her, although he was careful not to put his entire body weight on her petite form. _

_His hands snuck down her sides and he felt her hot flesh beneath her button down shirt. Without giving any warning, he began to tickle her as well, causing Lily's kisses to turn into fits of giggles as she tried to protest by saying his name. James merely shook his head at her as he continued to tickle her stomach. _

_Nearly ten minutes later, once the fits of laughter were finished and they were both sitting up in the middle of his bed again, James smiled as he stared into her emerald eyes. He could sense her chest heaving as she tried to regain her breath. He lifted his hand and pushed her red hair out of her face; he felt her breath against his hand. _

_James briefly kissed her lips before sighing and lying back down on his pillow, bringing Lily with him. His arm was still protectively around her, his hand sneaked beneath her shirt and rested against the hot skin on her arm. She rested her head in the nook between his shoulder and his chest and put one hand on his bare chest. _

"_Your friends should land themselves in detention without you more often," Lily giggled. _

"_I'm sure that could be arranged," he joked as he lightly stroked her arm. _

_James watched as her eyes began to lightly close and her breathing began to stabilize. He couldn't help but think that he was the luckiest man in the entire world. Just laying next to Lily was gratifying. _

"_I love you," he whispered and when she didn't respond, James knew that she must be asleep. Following her actions, James gently closed his eyes, ready to welcome sleep. _

"_I love you too," she whispered back. His eyes shot open and he glanced down at her; her eyes were still closed, but there was an unmistakable smile spread across her lips. _

As Lily arrived in the Gryffindor common room, excitement ran through her veins. Was this her final destination? She surely would have seen James setting up something special for her; she'd been all over the castle today. Maybe she was meeting James up in his room for the last surprise.

Or maybe she would at least get the chance to see him. It was already one o'clock in the afternoon and he had managed to avoid her for the past four hours. That's all she wanted; just to see her boyfriend.

Lily ran up the stairs to the boy's dormitory two at a time, not caring that she was receiving several strange and confused looks from many of the boys. Once she reached James's dormitory, she knocked on the door.

"Come in," yelled a familiar voice, just not the familiar voice she had wanted to hear. Instead, as she opened the door, she saw Sirius Black lying on his bed and flipping through a magazine. "Lily, James isn't here," he automatically said.

"I see that," she said in a very disappointed tone. "Did he, did he leave anything here for me? Anything at all?"

"No, not that I know of," he answered. "How's the search coming?"

"So you do know," she stated. "James told you he was sending me off on a search… Did he say where he's left all the clues?"

"Calm down, Lily," Sirius said, a hint of laughter playing in his eyes. "He told me what he was up to, but no, I don't know what the clues are. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you, it'd ruin the surprise."

"You know what he got me then?"

"Of course, I helped him pick it out," Sirius answered, still grinning. "And if you're looking for the next clue, check the place he said it."

Lily gave him a strange look and said, "You said you didn't know what the clues were."

"Okay, fine, I knew this one," Sirius grinned and rose his eyebrows at her before turning back to his magazine.

Lily walked over to James's bed and sure enough, there was a note taped to his pillow. She sat down on the bed as she tore open the envelope addressed to her. To her surprise, a photograph fell out, one that she recognized at once.

"_Mr. and Mrs. Evans, its such a pleasure to finally meet you," Vernon Dursley said, extending his fat fist as he spoke. Mr. and Mrs. Evans both took his hand, although it seemed to swallow their smaller hands. "Petunia has just told me so much about you." _

_Mrs. Evans beamed at Petunia, who stood at Vernon's right, a smile plastered across her face. "Our Petunia," Mrs. Evans remarked. _

_Lily rolled her eyes from the couch; she might as well be invisible. Actually, at that moment in time, she much rather would have been invisible. That way she would be able to sneak off to her room, leaving her sister and her boyfriend to meet the parents. But Lily knew that her parents would think her leaving as bad manners. _

"_And where exactly are you two going?" Mr. Evans asked as he eyed Vernon Dursley suspiciously. Mr. Evans was very protective of his two daughters and had yet to like a single boy either of them brought home. _

"_It's just a small party, daddy," Petunia said. Lily snorted and Petunia shot her a dirty look. For a small party, Lily noted that Petunia was way overdressed. But then again, standing next to Vernon, it was probably hard not to be overdressed. _

"_And when will you be home?" Mr. Evans questioned, staring hard at Vernon. _

"_Daddy!" Petunia shrieked. "It's a New Year's party. I'll be home when it ends." _

"_Alright," Mr. Evans grumbled. He looked over at Lily, who sat on the couch. He was relieved that she was staying in, especially since she was only seventeen. _

"_Picture time," Mrs. Evans cheerfully said. _

"_Mum," Petunia complained. _

"_Let me take a picture of you and your date, Petunia," Mrs. Evans insisted. _

_As Mrs. Evans fooled around with the camera, the doorbell rang. Mr. Evans went to get the door and just barely fit between the wall and Vernon. Lily remained on the couch, doing her best to control her laughter. Her mother was taking several steps back, trying her best to fit Petunia's height and Vernon's girth into the picture. _

"_Lily," Mr. Evans called, "There's someone here to see you." _

_Lily made a strange face, but got to her feet. After seeing her father's struggle, she went the other way around the house to get to the door. Besides, her mother was almost ready to take the picture. _

"_One..." her mother said. _

"_Lily," came a voice from just inside the door. _

"_Two…" _

_Lily froze for a brief moment before running right at James, a smile plastered across her face. He had a grin on his face as well. And as she reached him, he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her straight off the ground. She kissed him at once, with her arms draped across his neck and legs wrapped around his waist. _

"_Three," Mrs. Evans said and in the background of Petunia and Vernon's picture was Lily and James, looking more in love than Petunia and Vernon. _

Lily smiled at the photograph. Petunia had thrown it away the moment she saw her little sister in the background. Lily, however, had snuck it out of the trash and focused in on her and James. With a little bit of magic, she was able to make it into a normal sized photograph and gave James a copy as well.

She turned the picture over and saw that James had scribbled instructions on its back. "Go to the seventh floor," it read, "And to the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy attempting to train trolls for the ballet. Walk by it three times and concentrate on when I came to visit you on New Year's Eve. There's just one moment you need to think about, and you need to want to recreate it. It's up to you to figure out that moment, but here's your hint: that's when I knew I loved you, even though it took me another three weeks to muster up the courage to tell you."

Lily remained seated on James's bed and turned to look out the window, watching the snow fall to the ground. She looked back at Sirius, but he didn't seem to care that she was still in the room. She turned her attention back to the snow falling outside the window, losing herself to her thoughts.

She felt a burst warmth spread from her fingertips to her toes. He really was in love with her. Saying those three words to her, a little over three weeks ago, wasn't just a sporadic moment. He really meant it.

Lily read James's note three more times before she began to focus on his actual instructions. What was on the seventh floor? Lily thought that James had told her about all of the secret passages in Hogwarts, what was he still hiding from her? More importantly, why did she need to recreate a certain memory?

With a new round of excitement present, Lily leapt to her feet and made her way to the seventh floor. She didn't have a clue as to what memory James had been referring to, but decided to wing it. Maybe it wasn't really important. Maybe James merely wanted to set her into a happy mood by thinking about him, which he had achieved hours ago.

Fifteen minutes later, Lily found herself face to face with the tapestry. She frowned; there was definitely nothing important about it. She even looked behind the tapestry, hoping that there was some secret door behind it. However, she was disappointed to see nothing but castle wall. Next, she tried walking by it three times, hoping it would set off some magical enchantment. Once again, nothing. She even walked by it three times and then rechecked behind the tapestry, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Okay, so maybe the memory was important. She slid down the side of the wall across from the tapestry and began to think. What had happened that night? She and James had spent quite a bit of time poking fun at Vernon Dursley; but that hardly seemed like a reason for James to fall in love with her.

Her parents also appeared to approve of James. Okay, well, her mother approved of James. Her father, on the other hand, grunted when asked if he liked James. Lily took this as a good sign. When asked about Vernon Dursley, her father had suggested that next time there was a party, Petunia consider bringing their cousin Alfred. But no, James wouldn't think of that moment. It was hardly what anyone would consider romantic.

They had spent a fair amount of time on her front doorstep, kissing goodnight. Could a kiss have made James realize that he was in love with her? Lily decided against it. James had had a look of disappointment in his eye as Lily's father announced it to be bedtime and that James was not exactly welcome to spend the night. In fact, when he boarded the Knight Bus. No, that was not the memory that James wanted her to recall.

She took out the photograph one more time; even though it was a Muggle picture, it conveyed their emotions just as well as wizard pictures. She had been so excited to see him; it was probably the best part of her holidays. As she thought about it more and more, she realized that that was the night she knew he was the one.

He was the one that could make her smile, even when there was so much terror in the world outside. He was the one that made her heart race with just one touch, with just one look. He was the one that made a New Year's Eve night at home, just watching the fireworks, a night of perfection.

She smiled; she had solved the final clue.

"_Come on," Lily said and took James's hand in hers. She grabbed a couple of blankets with her free hand and led the way to her backyard. With James's help, she moved a large wicker loveseat, normally reserved for the summer, toward the edge of the back deck. "You can see the fireworks from here," she informed him. _

"_I've never seen Muggle fireworks," he said. _

"_Well, they don't do quite as many tricks as Wizard ones, but they're still fun to watch," she replied as she snuggled close to him beneath the several layers of blankets. Being in a Muggle neighborhood, they weren't supposed to use magic. Therefore, they had to settle with using four blankets and wearing their hats and scarves as they sat among the snow. _

_Just then, Lily's mother came out with two mugs of hot chocolate. She handed one to each of the two teens. "Thought you might be cold," she said. Her eyes stayed focused on her youngest daughter and she gave her an encouraging smile, one that said "he's good for you." _

_Lily sipped her hot chocolate and asked, "So, what did you leave to come see me?" _

"_My parents were throwing a party," he answered. _

"_And they won't wonder where you are?" she asked. _

"_Sirius is covering for me," James replied. "But they won't miss me. They've invited nearly half the Wizard world… This is better, much better." He lightly kissed the top of her head; Lily snuggled closer to him. _

_Lily looked down at her watch and said, "Fifteen seconds until the New Year." _

_James put his empty mug down on the ground and took both of her hands in his. "Ten seconds," he said. _

_Lily stared directly into his eyes and saw his yearning. She saw his eyes slip from her gaze to her lips. Other than their greeting at the front door, James hadn't kissed her all night, not under the watchful eye of Lily's parents. _

"_Three," she said. _

"_Two."_

"_One."_

_His lips were on hers and Lily felt a warmth spread throughout her body. The kiss was sweet and tender. It was everything she had grown to know and love about kissing James. It was everything that she had missed about kissing James. _

_There was a loud boom from the sky and their lips separated at once. The fireworks had started, celebrating the New Year. James wrapped his arms around Lily as they both stared up at the sky, watching as the bursts of light exploded into a rainfall of colors. _

_From behind, James lightly kissed Lily's cheek and she pushed back further into his arms. "Lily," he softly said. _

"_Yeah?" _

_James paused for a minute, as if contemplating what to say next. Finally, he said, "I'm glad I'm here." _

"_So am I," she replied, not realizing that what he had wanted to say was, "I love you." _

Lily got to her feet and focused hard on recreating that night. As James had instructed, she walked by the tapestry three times. Lily was certain that she must look like a fool; she had closed her eyes to picture the scene better.

When she opened them, she faced the tapestry but frowned. She did not see any changes. Once again, she looked behind the tapestry, but nothing, nothing at all had changed. She didn't understand what was going on. She knew it was that memory; it just had to be that memory.

Feeling defeated, Lily walked backward until she reached the wall. However, as she went to slide down it, she felt a sharp pain on her back. She spun around and saw that where the blank wall had been, there was now a door.

Grinning, Lily turned the handle and stepped inside. It was exactly as she had imagined it, only instead of the cold January air, it was room temperature inside. But otherwise, it was as if someone had taken a snapshot of her mind and arranged this room to look exactly like her backyard. There on the deck was the exact wicker loveseat that she and James had once occupied. And above her head, she saw a constant flow of silent fireworks, lighting up the ceiling's fake sky.

"Happy Valentine's Day," came a voice from behind her.

"James," she said and smiled as she ran towards him. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with all her might. She kissed him with all the pent up emotions she had been carrying with her since the first memory.

It shocked him at first, but he quickly wrapped his arms around her waist and returned her kisses. Once they broke apart, he grinned at her and whispered, "Surprised?"

"James, this is amazing," she replied, as they made their way over to the wicker loveseat. "Where are we?"

"It's called the Room of Requirement," James answered. "It's brilliant, isn't it? Sirius discovered it a month ago. It'll change into whatever you want it to be."

"It's brilliant," Lily agreed as she looked up at the sky displaying fireworks.

"There's more," he nervously said and bit his lower lip. He then pulled out a small box from his pocket and handed it to her.

She smiled as she began to rip off the wrapping paper, revealing a small black box. She opened it to discover a ring strung around a silver chain. Lily picked it up and looked closely at it. The ring was silver and shined beneath the light provided by the fireworks above. Embedded on it were three small diamonds, barely lifted off the surface of the silver band.

"James," she slowly said.

"It's a promise ring," he explained. "Because I know that if I had asked you to marry me today, you would've gotten scared. But know that one day I will ask you to marry me, one day when we're both ready. But for now, know that I'll always be there for you and that I'll always love you. And that I promise to spend the rest of my life figuring out what makes you smile, what makes you cry, and how to make all your fears go away."

"James, I," she softly said. She looked down at the ring in her hands and just like she had been discovering the answers to all his clues, it suddenly came to her. "That was the night I fell in love with you too, when you showed up at my doorstep. I didn't realize it at the time, but it's true." She brought the silver chain up to her neck and clasped it tightly. She let it hand loose at her chest for a moment, but then picked up the ring and looked at it. "I promise to say yes, when that day comes."

...

The End

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**Author's Note 2: **Hope you enjoyed it! Please, please, please review!


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